Superfluous
by Pipe Fox
Summary: This is a story involing everyone's favorite oldschool Quidditch Chaser and his three diabolical friends, who, between classes, lunch and slimy gits, play matchmaker with the cleverest witch in school. Naturally, chaos will ensue what's a wizard to do?


Superfluous

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

This is my first HP fic.I don't really want to say much else, otherwise I'll give it away, but please be gentle.I'm sensitive…--Bubbles, Powerpuff Girls.Anyway, read on, fanfic soldiers!

Superfluous

Quidditch practice went a few hours longer than usual as he, the tall, lanky sixth year he was, approached the intimidating castle that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.The wizard's round glasses were speckled with mud, yet were nowhere near as soiled as his crimson Quidditch uniform, as he entered the sanctity that the locker room offered away from the light drizzle that matted his untidy, coal black hair.

His stiffened hand fell easily upon the locker room door, the other holding his reliable broom securely, and ducked into the caliginous hallway, where the light of the crescent moon spilled in through the windows.

"_Quietus..."said he, pointing his mahogany wand to the black and white sneakers he wore, praying silently that no one would hear him, cursing silently because he'd forgotten his invisibility cloak._

The staircase looked especially dissuading as the Quidditch player crept along the stone steps with nearly an utterance; his left palm pressed flat against the stairwell while the other remained fixed around the handle of his broom, himself advancing upward towards the Gryffindor common room that lingered at the top of the ascent.

Finally, in lifetimes it seemed, he arrived at the top with a breath of relief.

"_Sonorus."He pointed to his sneakers, releasing the charm he'd put over them as he approached the entrance with weary eyes.The Portrait of the Fat Lady snored loudly, blotting out any sound that may have given him away._

"Psst!Wake up..." His gaze shifted to the passageway behind him, knowing all too frighteningly well that if anyone found him, he'd be flambé a la McGonagall.The curlers in the Fat Lady's hair shook as she opened one wary eye from beneath her transparent beauty mask.

"Late Quidditch practice again, Mr. Potter?"She was obviously irritable.The glasses-donning wizard flushed a light pink around his ears, nodding quickly.The Fat Lady gave him an expectant look, highly annoyed on being disturbed from her beauty sleep at such an ungodly hour, but he continued with his look of apprehension, this, and a dull, blank stare.

"Password?"

"Oh!Peppermint pimpernels."The portrait swung open without another word and he practically flew inside, starting to sigh with relief until his ease cut abruptly short at the three pairs of eyes staring him down.Please, he silently petitioned, don't let one of them be Professor McGonagall...

"And just where have you been, Mr. Potter?"His glistening dark eyes widened at the familiar, demanding voice that, in his sudden discontent, he could not place."A late Quidditch practice, I presume?"

The three figures stationed before him gave him a certain front of expectancy; he knew this despite shadows cast over their facades, the little light emitting from the moon throwing light onto his face alone like a spotlight.His expression contorted then, slowly, from a slight frown to a sliver of a grin.

"Well?"

"Actually, I was snoging.It's quite interesting, really.I never knew Rosmerta was so...sophisticated."

There was a small margin of silence among them before two of the three voices burst out in a fit of laughter.He smiled, confidently proud of his answer, and pointed his wand at the inactive fireplace.

"_Incendio!"_

The sudden burst of light from the lovely, magical flames illuminated their faces clearly: Two sixth-year boys laughing to no end at the seemingly inside joke, and a female between them giving him a falsely hurt expression.

"That wasn't funny, James Potter, not funny at all."A hearty smile emitted from his disposition as he hung his mud-soaked robe close to the flames.

"Sorry, Lily.Next time I decide to go snoging you'll be number one on my list."Lily Evans snorted quickly, crossing her arms in a rather cross-like manner, turning her head.The dark-haired wizard smiled gently and turned to face her.

"You're still my number one girl."

"I'm _not your girl."She snapped in an almost-harsh-but-not-quite voice.His fingers fell upon her cheek and turned her face gingerly towards him, amber eyes sparkling with exuberance from a well run practice.He seemed to sparkle genuinely from behind his spectacles, piercing the emerald orbs she sported through the tiny flicks of mud.Quickly enough, he rubbed his glasses clean._

"You're not mad are you?We're still friends, right?"

There was a reason for the popularity of James Potter.He was handsome and charming, athletic and intelligent, but most of all, he was persuasive.Lily knew his hoaxes, and though could hear the sincerity in his voice, she decided let him wonder for the moments she remained hushed, allowing him to think aside the dying chortles of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

"Of course, James."She answered finally, letting the enjoyment of seeing his adorably puzzled face fade away into his confident smile."Just don't let it get to your head."

With her hand placed delicately on her hip, the sharpness in her eyes increasing, she would have given him a very McGonagall-like glare had it not been accompanied with a smirk.

"Besides, I'm still your number one girl."

"Of course.Except you're not my girl."His eyes danced mischievously.

"That's right.I'm not.Which would simply make me number one."His eyebrows cocked and rose, attempting to decipher her words and failing miserably, his features contorting into a confused expression.

"I'm not quite sure I understand..."

"Don't worry."She stroked his cheek with a jesting smile."You'll get the hang of it."

Lily breezed past him then, moving towards the Girl's Dormitory with a sway in her hips.

"Now that you're here, James, I'm turning in.See you all in the morning."She turned back before she entered the room, half in and half out, her gaze directed towards James with the very same clever smile, and noiselessly entered the darkness.

James stared after her with a broad, highly interested grin, touching the flat of his palm along the place where Lily had laid her hand, his chestnut eyes glistening and bright, wide awake as though he had not had Quidditch practice at all.He seemed as if he were going to say something to her but stopped as she shut the door, the only utterance he made, simply put, was...

"Hmm."

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances, mimicking his posture with a certain thoughtfulness.

"Hmm."

Sirius's smile turned malicious suddenly as both of the Marauders came up on either side of their fellow mischief-maker.

"Hey."Sirius nudged James's left arm. 

"Hey, hey."Remus elbowed the other, all of them casting a suggestive look at the door, though some more suggestive than others.

"Yes James, I am psychic."Said the jet-haired wizard beside James, his eyes flickering with mischief."And yes, I know what you're thinking, and I agree.She probably IS pulling off her shirt right now..."

The three, staring intently as though the door were made of glass, all lingered behind the extra moment to consider the possibilities.They were, after all, sixteen-year-old wizards, humans, teenagers, and, in the almighty words of Sirius Black, had a divine and holy right to suggestive thinking.James nodded slowly, realizing his actions with an invisible jolt of lighting and flushed, rapidly shaking his head from side to side.

"I wasn't thinking that!"

Again, the other two marauders in the room gave each other a glance, erasing the mischievous grins into stern eyes of disbelief.

"Do you believe him, Mr. Moony?"

"I certainly do not, Mr. Padfoot.But if Mr. Prongs says that he was not thinking about that..."

"Which he undoubtedly was."

"Of course."(Their former expressions returned then, much to James's discontent.)

"I choose to believe him."

"As do I."They turned and shook each other's hands in a rather animated fashion, while James averted his gaze in every possible direction save the female living quarters, blushing madly.

"Well, we'd all better get to bed, eh?You _bad boy you..." Sirius commented, a smart-aleck grin against his facade that seemed permanently hexed on with the best holding charm money could offer._

"That's right.," said Remus."We have Herbology with Slytherin tomorrow.Can't be tired, now can we, _Casanova?"The sandy-haired sixth year followed the other into the sixth year boys' dormitory._

James flinched from annoyance at the harmless, if not aggravating, antics of his fellow marauders, but brushed it off quickly enough, being excessively tired now as he was from three extra hours of Quidditch.

A quick extinguishing charm and the exquisite detail of the Gryffindor common room dimmed and faded with the absent flame in the hearth, the only light remaining being the slivers of silver moonlight streaming between the clouds blanketing the royal blue sky.His amber eyes flickered as he took in the calm serenity before he heard the names Sirius and Remus had resorted to calling him and went to teach them a lesson.

The revenge James had gone to fulfill against two of his best friends hadn't gone quite as he'd predicted, and consequently, ended with four very unhappy campers awakening the following morning with side effects.For, in exacting his vengeance, the untidy-haired wizard had cast the most recently covered form of Transfiguration on the nearest Marauder in the room; unfortunately for Remus Lupin, the lessons from the day before had been about human/animal transfiguration.

Needless to say, no one in the Boy's Dormitory got much sleep.

"That was absolutely unnecessary, James."Sirius complained, his fingers tugging on a pale layer of dead skin from his nose.

"I don't think I deserved to be a lizard."He continued,"Especially one that was shedding its skin."

"I beg to differ."James retorted.He started to cough violently and threw up a slimy object onto the stone floor.All four of them looked disgusted."Thanks to Moony over here I'll be coughing up hairballs for a week."

Remus crossed his arms sourly.

"Nobody told you to lick yourself, Prongs." He drawled out in a sarcastic manner."And besides...I only did that because you changed me into a butterfly.For god's sake, Wormtail almost sat on me-"

"Sirius was the one who made me the German Boar Hound, Moony."Peter Pettigrew snapped, scratching the thin, sinewy hair atop his head."They take up a lot of space.And I wouldn't have sat on you if Mr. Padfoot hadn't have bit my paw!"

"You were _standing on my tail, Wormtail."Sirius gritted in a cross manner, reassuringly rubbing his rear end."I bit you for being a clumsy git."_

The four slipped into a gap of silence; James's hand were shoved into his pocket, Remus still hand his arms crossed, Peter walked with his eyes focused downward and Sirius, now that he had reassured himself that his bum would be fine, had his hands behind his head.

James smiled suddenly and laughed.

"I'd say though, that it was the best educational experience this year.McGonagall might have been proud." 

The other three looked over at him, their cross expressions melting into one of good nature and the whole lot of them started to laugh as though the whole thought had just been a joke, though James had been quite serious, until their resent towards the previous night faded away.

"Tell me, what could be so funny to your droll minds?"Their contentment, however, died down abruptly at the entrance of a slimy looking fellow with greasy black hair.Sirius cast him an ice-cold scowl.

"Well if it isn't our old friend, Severus Snape."

"Makes the hairball you coughed up look perfectly sanitary, James."Peter remarked.Severus only smiled, a devious smile, ignoring what Peter Pettigrew had said.

"I would think that you would have made some sort of...illegal item, am I right?"

"Right as a redcap in a Roman-Catholic Church..."Sirius muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes skyward with impatience.James seemed to catch his drift; Sirius had always had the strongest aversion to Snape, stretching to something that happened beyond his knowledge of their meeting, he supposed.

"If you'll excuse us, we have to be off.So busy you know, doing droll people stuff."James stated, leading the pack away from the slimy sixth-year. 

"Such as?"He hissed coldly.

"Oh, the usual.Being cocky, practicing Quidditch, having fun..."

"Getting dates..."Sirius dragged out.Peter sniggered.Severus scowled.

"Washing our hair, maybe?"Remus remarked as they rounded the corner.

Severus scowled even more as he heard their laughter ringing throughout the halls.He turned, furious, and was about to make at least a dignified, self-witnessed retreat, when he stepped in something incredibly disgusting...

Sirius's eyes brimmed with tears of absolute satisfaction.

"Classic."He repeated."Classic."

"Nice insult, Peter."Remus remarked.Peter turned pink.  
"Yeah well..."The boys passed the library still in deep conversation...

At least, three of them did.

Sirius suddenly noticed that his best friend was absent.Murky, dark blue eyes flickering, he cast a retrograde glance behind him, to see James Potter staring intently into the library doors.Padfoot back-pedaled and took a gander inside, catching a glimpse at the object of attention.

"Mm hmm..."Remus followed in suit.

"Ah hah..."

"What's everybody staring at?"Peter asked, somewhat peeved that they had excluded him; his beady eyes glanced around the library until Remus directed his vision.Lily Evans was seated between two mountains of books, studying for the Herbology quiz, no doubt, looking quite bookish indeed.

"So..."Sirius said quietly.James turned and looked back at him, suddenly becoming aware that they had all come to observe beauty in its natural habitat.He registered the tall, rogue-looking wizard with a unadorned expression.

"For a wizard who gets top marks you'd THINK that he could figure this stuff out..." Remus muttered quietly to himself.

"Go talk to her!"Sirius bellowed with a bite of impatience in his whisper.Peter had the same vacancy spread across his facade until enlightened by Remus, who at the moment had chosen very wisely to stay silent.

"Why?"

"JUST DO IT!"Sirius Black threw him into the room.

Lily Evans had been engulfed in _Toadstools for Toddlers by Fredrick Van Flora, when she happened to glance up, suddenly seeing James Potter jet towards her at a clumsy pace, colliding in a painfully loud crash with her precipice of study material.Yet mere books could not stop the force at which he flew; his acceleration caused them both to hit the library floor with an exceedingly apt amount of havoc.Papers propelled in every which way and direction, while Mr. Potter and Miss Evans had been crudely deposited in a crumpled heap beside her wooden chair._

"James?"

"Lily?"

"SHHHH!!!"Madam Pince shushed them both and continued roughly stamping books.

The masculine form rolled off from over his companion's waist, flushing a deeper crimson than a Chinese Fireball in mating season, and adjusted his glasses.Having nothing to say, and no plausible excuse that wouldn't ultimately lead to more embarrassment, he sighed with a modest smile, holding her feather quill out to her grasp, reddening still.

"I uh...don't suppose you'd fancy a Butterbeer, would you?"

"Oops..."

"A bit rough, Sirius."

"I'd like some Butterbeer right about now..."  
  


Lily turned a charming shade of pink, frozen in time almost, until he stood and helped her to her feet.They brushed their robes, both attempting to avoid the other's gaze.James, while eluding Miss Evans's emerald eyes, noticed her mountain of books had scattered along the floor.His wand seemed to come naturally to his hands.

"_Accio."Her books collected themselves into his hands and onto the library table.He knelt to pick up her long dove quill, simply to buy time._

"*How can I make this up to her?*"He thought, a perplexed air to his mental conversation.He lifted the bendy, soft writing utensil.

"Here."

Lily's charming pink turned into an exquisite red, and James noted why.For in place of the quill was an elegant fuchsia calla lily.He turned a tremendously vibrant crimson.

"I...let me change it back-"  
"NO!"

"SHHHHHH!!!!!"Madam Pince eyed them menacingly before returning to the unnecessarily rough stamping of the books.

Lily flushed even deeper.

"I...that's okay...I'll keep it.It's very charming.Thank you."She returned to her seat modestly, holding the flower close but not too close.James flushed again, turning to exit.

"Oh, James?"She called back in a low whisper.He turned, wanting her to talk to him but not in his current condition of bashfulness.

"About that Butterbeer.This weekend, perhaps?Your treat."He smiled as naturally as he could, feeling as though his knees would buckle from beneath him, and warbled out of the library his heart dishing out double shift.The others didn't bother to pester him in his current condition; Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter otherwise known as Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, the Marauders, all set out towards the now emptying cafeteria.

"POTTER!BLACK!Will you PLEASE pay attention?"Professor Binns snapped distinctly.His ghostly eyes narrowed as he turned back around to face the board.James sighed and twiddled his quill with one hand, leaning his head on the other.His amber orbs flickered.So...boring...

"Of course, armed with enchanted armor and dragon talon spears, the army of King Mier the Monstrosity led by King Mier himself, charged the red-caps full on..."The ghostly form of Prof. Binns droned on and on and on...

James yawned mutely, dulled out of his existence; he reached into his robes for his wand and, while Binns had his translucent back turned, transfigured his quill into a miniature crab, and resorted to watching it scuttle across the table to Sirius, and back.

"The aftermath of the Red-Cap Rebellion is not to be confused with the Goblin's rebellion that took place in 1816 that we covered in your fourth year, mind you.The major difference all lies in the formation of muggle colonies..."

Bored with his little crustacean amigo he reversed his quill to its original form, casting a stray glance at Remus and Peter.

Remus sat quiet taking small, undefined notes, but this was all very common, doodling little moons on the sides of his paper in pensive thought.Peter Pettigrew had immersed himself into 'The Adventures of Ratman and Chipmunk', his most beloved muggle comic.His parchment was completely blank.

He glimpsed at Lily, who, like Remus, was taking notes.Already she was nearing her third sheet of parchment, her eyes focused upon the phantasm scribbles on the board that Binns was busying himself with, scrawling down every other word in impeccable manuscript.

James yawned once more and looked over at Sirius.His best friend was something between snoozing and scribbling on his otherwise empty manuscript, one murky blue eye open and the opposite shut, resting his head on his arm on the desk, irked as he.

James glanced at his own paper.There were small notes at the heading, but as the lesson regarded less and less on his intellect they seemed to shorten and finally cease.Lifting his quill, he started.

"_The great red-cap rebellion is not to be confused with the goblin rebellion in 1816, distinguished mainly by the formation of non-magical human, commonly called muggle, colonies in __Northern Europe__..."_

He suddenly got an irresistible urge to run his fingers along his Nimbus 1000.When and where the idea came from, he'd yet to discover himself, but he deftly prayed for the end of class nonetheless.His eyes soared across the room, over the heads of the avidly note-taking Ravenclaws, and out of the castle window, driving effortlessly among the clouds.

"Isn't that right, Mr. Potter?"James lifted his head from his hand almost languorously, expressions of 'what are you talking about' written across his face in invisible India ink.The entire class was staring at him.Clumsily he stood, straightening his black robes.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying Professor Binns?"His old, ghostly figure seemed to flicker in annoyance.

The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sixth-years all dragged themselves, in their current state of stupor, to their common rooms before lunch.James's eyelids seemed unbearablyheavy; he'd managed to escape the wrath of Professor Binns only with a lecture on the fundamentals of educational discipline.

But then, we must remember, any lecture Binns imparts is a malignant speech indeed; for you see, his tendency to drone on and on and on just might end with the recipient of this tedious reprimand dulled to death.

"I can barely see straight..."Sirius muttered irritably, rubbing his eyes with the raven sleeve of his robes.

His customarily confident, erect posture slacked along the tonnage of the 'World History of Magic Book 6', by Miranda Moonstone, which he'd hoisted under his arm, trudging with the rest of the Marauders to the top of the staircase where the common room lay in wait.

"And yet we survive another day of this torment called 'Professor Binns'."

Remus yawned casually, coursing a hand through his locks of sandy chestnut hair.

"Not to be rude,"he started with a tinge of sarcasm, "but it's not like you pay any attention anyway."

James and Sirius cast him a weary glance, motioning to retaliate but realized his words were true before hand, smiled sheepishly and said nothing more.

"Hello boys."They looked up already to see the Portrait of the Fat Lady in the Pink Dress looking down upon them, smiling, obviously in good spirits.Beside her was Violet from the portrait in the antechamber.She waved good-naturedly.

"Password?"

"Peppermint pimpernels."  
  


The portrait swayed to the side, allowing the four sixth-years to enter the common room.Their forms seemed to mold into the armchairs similar to that of old blankets, each accompanied with a sigh of their own.

"At least Herbology is next.Bertha Jorkins told me that Professor Sprout's teaching us how to cook using flowers and herbs."Said Peter.Sirius chortled curtly.

"Bertha Jorkins couldn't find her way out of a sorting hat.I wouldn't trust her for the life of me, even if she IS a junior teacher."

The other boys concurred, remembering the words an older student, a head boy back to their first year with startling red hair, when Bertha Jorkins of Hufflepuff had not been able to lift the sorting hat from her head and warbled about the great hall for a good time, completely lost and in a fit of panic, until Dippet, the old headmaster, had pacified her enough to pry to hat off.The hat itself retained to be quite amused, as were the rest of the students at Hogwarts save the few who'd yet to be sorted.Poor Bertha was sent straight to the infirmary for the delusions she'd had afterwards.

"It'll be two long hours until Herbology, anyway."Said James.He stood, stretching his achy muscles, running a hand through his prodigiously disordered black mane.

"I'm going to go fly around a bit."

"Madam Pomfrey said she'd like to show me a set of new curing spells.It seems very interesting."Remus refastened his robe."I'm going up to the infirmary."

"You all go on; I'm going to catch some Z's for about an hour...I'll probably be in the library afterwards."James tossed a surreal glance in his direction.

"Since when did you study for anything, Sirius?"  
"Since Sariya Silverwood started studying for potions."

He said this with cunning flair.

Sirius was never, NEVER, nor ever would seem to be, the romantic type.While girls threw themselves at his feet he retained to shun them all; the only girls who seemed to interest him were the pretty ones, the ones who seemed to have a high self esteem, the ones who were hard to obtain.

And believe me, these girls were by no means in abundance.

James was quite sure Sirius had never actually had a crush on anyone in his life, but then his closest companion had always been this way towards women.A bachelor to the bitter end.A real 007, as muggles would say.Not that he used them, no, never.Nor did he flirt enough to be called such.He simply went about his way, enchanting the loveliest of ladies in Hogwarts no matter what their age; once, James recalled with a miniscule grin, Sirius had accomplished to gull a lovely but callow substitute teacher into a day of lessons in open air.

Sariya Silverwood was an exquisitely beautiful, purebred witch in Ravenclaw, a sixth-year, with a lustrous amount of long, silvery pale hair.Tall and slender, radiant sky blue eyes; young Sirius Black seemed to be the _only one she __ever noticed, teachers included.Must be attracted to the rogue, rebellious outlook, thought James.In any case, Sirius had, after extremely careful consideration, decided to bestow upon her a rare gift; the right to hold conversation among him._

Anyone who would not have known Sirius would have considered this tremendously pompous, yet a great effort of the female population at Hogwarts year six and under took this unspoken privilege to the utmost sobriety; even a few seventh year girls have found themselves swooning quietly when he passed the halls, looking peeved, as he often did, after a run in with Severus Snape.

"Sariya Silverwood, huh?"Said Remus, brining James out of his musings."The snooty Ravenclaw girl?Aiming higher than usual?"

"Maybe..."His devious smile never disappeared from his face.He stroked his slightly unshaven chin thoughtfully."It doesn't really matter, though, does it?"No one bothered to answer his response, each sinking into thought.

"You're all barking mad to miss lunch."Peter Pettigrew said, breaking the silence with a pat of his plump stomach."I'm going to go eat lunch.Maybe I'll head to the kitchen and get a few snacks from the house-elves.See you."

Peter dawdled towards the door, stretching languorously, before slipping out of the common room.Sirius headed to the Boy's Dormitory with a yawn, followed by James and Remus, who each returned with various commodities; a broom in the hands of the untidy-haired Quidditch player, and a book and quill in the hand of the gray-eyed schoolboy.The two remaining marauders went their way with nearly a word, except perhaps 'later', each too eminently preoccupied with deliberations of spending their next two hours to carry on any exceedingly intelligent conversation.

The air was a comfortable warm; a perfect day for Quidditch, James thought, had practice not been postponed for the holiday.A gentle Friday meant the last day of term and the start of Christmas vacation; likely, the last pleasant day for a long while.He murmured a sigh of contentment.This was the way life was supposed to be lived.High in the air, thinking of nothing in particular, wondering about this and that; it was absolute bliss.

Much to his displeasure his watch went off with a tiny flash of light; had he possibly been here for an hour?He sighed, recalling in his memory the promise he'd made Professor McGonagall that he would be there so she might show him a new transfiguration spell.Vaguely, he felt his feet touched the ground, numb from the high, fresh smell of the air.His fingers brushed along the fringe of forest as he took the long route, wishing he'd never have made that promise, especially when he wasn't too terribly fond of McGonagall in the first place.

Distantly, in a brief instant, he hear something calling for help.His fingers gripped tighter around his Nimbus 1000, straining to listen to the distressed cries.There it was again!It sounded like a human, a child perhaps, but it didn't matter.An unknown source of valiance blinded him; he carelessly deposited his broom into the bushes and took off running, two steady beats becoming four, racing, towards the center of the Forbidden forest.

With a fulfilled quest for knowledge and a satisfied stomach, Lily Evans made her way up to the Gryffindor common room with an hour left to spare before Herbology.

"Hello, dear.What's the password?"

"Peppermint Pimpernels."The Portrait entrance made itself visible with a swing; as Lily stepped in, Sirius Black was just making his way out. 

"Hello, Sirius.Is James with you?"Sirius smiled a clandestine smile; the fuchsia lily James had transfigured for her that very morning was still clutched tightly in her hand.

"No, went to fly around a bit.You know him."The dark-haired wizard yawned casually, motioning to walk past her when she suddenly reached out and tugged at his robe.He turned to face her; her creamy pale skin was turning enticingly pink with each second, and it was almost a minute until she spoke.

"Sirius...you know that the Christmas Ball is coming up...and..."Sirius countered her emerald eyes with a questionable, piercing stare.She wouldn't be...no, never...

"Well...do you think that...perhaps if...no...I was wondering if you might...I...oh, never mind...I'll ask him myself.But thank you."

She gingerly released his robe and hurried off down the stairs.Sirius rested his hand on his chin thoughtfully, and smiled.

The white stag (a/n: I don't know what color stag James would transform into, but I'd imagine it would be white, like at the end of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.) raced through the density of the trees, no common sense or reason enough to find the path, bounding across the small puddles of the rain, dodging the low hanging branches that threatened his velocity.Prongs jerked to a sudden halt, his ears twitching in all directions.The danger was close by; he could smell it, though he'd never quite felt this way before, such a strong aversion.

There it was.He ran off in the direction, more frantically than before.

Lily ran, her robes blowing behind her, struggling to contain her laughter and yet she hadn't the slightest thought why, prancing towards the Quidditch field where James was supposed to be.Her deep red hair waved, her cheeks rosy, holding only her wand and the lily in her hand.

"James!"She called, gazing skyward with bright emerald eyes, smiling, searching between the clouds."James, are you out here?I wanted to ask you something!"She walked along the ground of the field, near the bleachers, where she could see he'd placed his robe on the second highest stand.

"Hmm..."She murmured with a perplexed air, her smile slowly fading, replaced with an expression of curiosity.

"Jam-"She quickly covered her mouth.Why was she calling to him?She had no thought in the least as to what she would tell him!Highly unconventional it was, to have a female ask a male anywhere without the boy bringing the topic up in the first place, and she in know way wanted him to believe she was too bold.

"Perhaps,"She said in a quieter tone, her grin returning as she, swinging her arms back and forth in a enchanting manner, "I won't ask him...but I can wait, and give him the chance!"She giggled shortly at her musing and bounded towards the bleachers, looking out for any sign of him.

"_Stay...stay back..."_

Prongs sped towards the source of the squeaky yet strong voice getting louder and louder, struggling, thrashing, until he desisted in a flurry of beats.First to meet his eyes was a quivering child, though, he comprehended with a start, that this child was indeed so, but the second half of his body was white; a centaur.

The boy stamped wildly with his forelegs, the other two trying to pull away, his hair and arms tangled in a web of tree branches, one arm over his eyes.Beneath him, the largest serpent the depths of his imagination could ever conceive.The snake slithered near, shying back each time the centaur stamped with his white legs, winding closer each time.

Prongs wasted no more time than this; his forelegs raised high he leapt into the struggle, landing hard on the serpent's body.It hissed violently but he took no notice; using his antlers he scooped its long, coiled body and hurled it in the opposite direction with a formidable blow.

The black-purple, lethal creature now rose, viciously spitting in his direction as he stamped wildly, raising his forelegs and kicking his hind ones, shaking his head, a silent battle waged between them.It was easy to see where the stag had landed its body; thick, purple blood oozed out from the deep wound, and yet it still threatened him furiously, daring him to inch closer.Prongs threw his head and charged again; it recoiled to the side, and, when the courageous beast hit the ground with his forelegs, sank its venomous teeth into his hind legs.Prongs faltered, shaking his head wildly still, his injured leg starting to give into the weight.The deadly reptile hissed once more, retreating while the stag was injured, back into the depths from which it resided.

The centaur still struggled, however mildly, when Prongs had managed to limp towards him.The boy uncovered his eyes, a clear, vivid color, and his thrashing ceased.

"You saved me."He said in his facile voice, astonished, his gaze aimlessly heading up to the clouds."I must have read the stars wrong..."

The stag transformed then, back to James, who knelt on the ground, his weak leg drizzling out crimson blood.The young centaur, however, seemed to contain no feeling of surprise, his pale hair flickering in the sunlight.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

It was then that three other centaurs appeared in the dense of the wood; two, bold, black-bodied centaurs with long coal-colored manes, and one with long red hair and a chestnut body.Their gazes transfixed upon James first, then to the smallest, fairest of the bunch, the one with the livid blue eyes, sparkling as he turned to them, an innocent, child-like smile upon his facade.

"Hello Ames.Bane and Ronan."

The larger of the two dark centaurs reared on his hind legs, kicking in anger.James cast a troubled glance between them; while Ames, as the little one had called him, exploded in a flash of anger, the white-bodied half horse half boy simply stared more at the sky, the glimmer of his smile playing across his face.

"Firenze, what trouble have you fixed upon?!"Firenze never took his eyes away from the heavens.

"I was attacked by a great serpent," he said slowly, "and this human, in the form of a stag, rescued me."

"Did I not tell you,"Ames growled, approaching Firenze with simmering rage, as though he'd not heard a word, "to stay within our grounds?Did I not show our entirety the unique brightness of Mercury?"He raised his hand to strike him, but the hand of the red haired one, Ronan, stopped him.

"Ames, I'm sure he was led amiss by the heavens.There is no need to scold him more."Ames jerked his hand away, glaring at the bantam centaur, who, if afraid at any moment, had not shown it.

"It is better," he growled, sending a glare of sure peril at James who, at the moment, struggled to stand on his weak leg, "that he have died by the serpent, than be rescued by a human."

Ames stormed off with a violent stamp of his legs, galloping off in the direction of which he came.The other dark-colored one, Bane, charged after him.Ronan, however, lingered to watch as Firenze finally broke his gaze away from the clouds and helped James to his feet.

"He's injured,"Said the palomino centaur matter-of-factly, allowing James to lean on white back, "the serpent poisoned him."

Ronan pawed the ground nervously, apprehensively, torn between what was right and what was law.

"Be quick, Firenze."And with that, he trotted off in the relative direction as the others.

"You must get you back to the castle."

"Thank you." James could only manage a weak reply, his eyelids heavy, straining himself to stay conscious.

The adolescent centaur's eyes shimmer at this human, whom did not appear so as Ames had once described.His eyes were not feral, he carried no armaments, no axes or animal skins.He appeared, in a sense, as one of his own kind who had suffered wounds in the past; this human...he seemed both compassionate and courageous, for had he not these qualities at least he would not have braved the wrath of a Basilisk.

"What is your name?"

James opened his eyes then closed them, consciousness slipping through his fingers.A dull pain throbbed in his skull; concentrating impaired any other thought.The poison seeped in his blood and rapidly seemed to overpower him; what was his name…his name…

"James...James Potter..."

"How old are you, James Potter?"He had a feeling that this centaur, this Firenze, was more intelligent than he had first appeared, struggling as he was such, his voice seeming entirely more rational than their first intervention.His head throbbed even more so.

"Sixteen…"

"We're almost there, James.Just try and stay awake until then."He could barely comprehend his words; stay awake, don't fall asleep, that's all that matters.

A light in the clearing appeared suddenly, before him, the repetitive motion of Firenze moving steadily along, James almost fully supported on his palomino back but not quite, journeying straightforward.And then, in a flash, they reached the forest's edge, Hogwarts lay before them, gleaming, yet James could not see it nor could he care.

"This is where I leave you, James Potter."He carefully laid James to rest on the grassy ground.

"I am greatly indebted to you."Firenze said in a lower tone."And I swear by my honor that I will return this favor someday."James's glassy brown eyes seemed to lighten softly with a vague understanding and, just knowing he might remember the next day, Firenze galloped off into the depths of the forest. 

Lily saw it.She heard it.But she could not believe it.Her emerald eyes flickered at the white centaur as it galloped out of sight, but her shock lie with poor, sweet fallen James.

His face was pale, his dusky tresses more unruly than usual, his breath, even from her remoteness, appeared ragged and hoarse.More foreboding, his right leg, which drained an oozing scarlet liquid, his own blood, onto the earth below him.The witch underwent a sudden dizziness without a hesitation of time, but no, no, assist James, she thought, her legs buckling beneath her, her stomach aching to regurgitate, no, help James, rescue James, she stumbled beneath her own robes, help him, save him, go to him.

He labored to stand up, arms wobbling, and fell, his face hitting the dirt.The world before him was a vague, distant blur.My glasses must be broken, he thought, or rather, something thought, because he, James…was that his name?James was too busy fighting to rise.

It caught his attention then; black, swaying black and red, closely approaching.Black, something thought, and red, red eyes…an Acromantula…

His hand slid into his pocket._Attack it, James, something thought, __attack.  
"St…"His knees bent beneath him, and stiffened slowly, rising.The black and red velocitating faster and faster towards him.__Attack, James, hurry.Attack._

"St…"His arm quivered as he raised his arm.Ruddy glasses."St-"His breath caught in his throat, his knees buckled, and he was falling.Falling into the black and red cushion, his arms dangling, his wand slipped from between his fingers._Goodbye James, something thought, __he'll eat you for sure._

The black and red and slivers of light his eyes were vaguely catching turned shadowy, the light, he saw, was the sun, and it ducked beneath the horizon, the red became shadow, the black, blacker still, until nothing was left before him but darkness.

Her arms stretched securely around him, fingers latched onto the red shirt over his burning skin, her eyes tightly shut, holding him closely in his weakness, savoring the bitterness she felt.

"James,"She thought, and the first question, also the most obvious, spilt out of her mouth."Are you okay?"

He murmured, or shivered, either she decided, in response and still, grasping him protectively, pulled him further from the forest's edge.

"It will be alright James."She quivered, letting his fiery flesh rest against her own."Just hold on for me, hold on…"

_Hold on…_

James Potter awoke with a start, squinting in the darkness, pushing his hands through his jet-black hair.

The world was still vague.

Touching his face he realized his glasses were missing and reached out to the night stand where they rested, to feel, instead, the intricately spun mane that was, he strained to see to see, Lily Evans, resting in her arms over the sheets of his bed.

Lily?In the Boy's Dormitory?  
  


James found his extra pair of bifocals in his pocket; upon slipping them over his amber eyes, he found himself not in the sixth-year boy's dormitory at all, but the hospital wing.The two, large oak shelves containing strange bottles and healing herbs was more intimidating than usual in the darkness; a pair of neat, unoccupied beds lay on either side of the chamber.From the long vertical windows that closely reached from the ceiling to the floor, the sky outside could be seen; the once pearly clouds had befallen into a thick, looming gray.It was behind them that the stars were secreted; the waxing gibbous moon itself playing peek-a-boo with its darkened blankets, smiling with its round, white eyes, esoterically, yet lightheartedly, when caught.

In the corner of the room, graced with shadow, was a chair that supported the sleeping form of Sirius Black, his dark hair swept across his sealed eyes as he inaudibly slept, his fingers loosely entwined with the silver, nearly translucent cloak of invisibility.James's chestnut eyes flickered; Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let either of them sleep in the infirmary, he supposed, so they'd taken the liberty of breaking in.

Just like Sirius Black, he mused.

It was then it occurred to him; the recollections of what happened before.Racing through the Forbidden Forest, head to head with the gigantic serpent, Ames and Firenze, the Acromantula…

His fingers suddenly ached.Where was his…he couldn't have left it there…His eyes traced along the chamber once more, not spying its comforting gleam anywhere.

Mutely he shifted out from beneath stark white blankets, disturbing none but the cracks on the stone floor, and retrieved his cloak from Sirius's grasp.Cautiously, carefully, his fingers pushed along the door, his footsteps daunted as he crept far from the infirmary wing.

_The sixth year wizard burst in the room, his dark eyes wide, hair slightly tousled, walking with half rationality, the other half pierced with concern.Poisoned.But not just with any poison.Basilisk poison._

_"He's fine, Sirius."Lily came up behind him, standing at his side while they peered over his pale, sleeping form._

_"He doesn't look like it."His voice was hoarse and croaky._

_"Fine but lucky.Basilisk poison is incurable unless treated within an hour of the bite.And, judging by his reaction to the spell, he was poisoned forty-seven minutes ago."_

__

_Madam Pomfrey pushed past them both, smoothing an odd looking, lime colored paste across two jab marks where he'd been pierced.Visibly, the saw him wince, but she took no notice of this and waved her wand, the green paste starting to disappear into his skin and, instantly it seemed, his face began to return to its original color._

__

_"Remarkably enough,"She started, placing the paste on the bed table along with a pitcher of purple fluid, "Basilisk poison is very simple to cure as long as its not been over an hour.He'll be fine by nightfall, but he needs his rest.Who knows what kind of trouble he'll get into if he's not in bed."_

_Madam Pomfrey held her head then, straightening her robes as she headed for the door._

_"Be a dear, Remus, and watch him for me.NO ONE else is to see him.I've got to have a talk with Professor Dumbledore."_

__

_Remus glanced up, stress wearying on his young face as he nodded.The sixth year stood then, when the aged witch had left the room, and approached James's bedside with livid gray eyes._

_"This is bad…James'll be fine but…"A taut sigh earned grim expressions from both Sirius and Lily.The light-haired student held weary head, allowing it to drop onto his chest._

_"James was poisoned by a basilisk, a very deadly, very dangerous poisonous snake that petrifies anything that looks into its eyes.There hasn't been a report of one since 1943, and that's when Moaning Myrtle was killed."He glanced up then, noted on their comprehension, and hesitantly continued._

__

_"On top of that, the only ones who can control a basilisk is a parseltongue.And the only parseltongue known who may have such a creature in possession is…you-know-who."_

__

_Lily covered her mouth, shaking her head slowly, whimpering softly.Sirius remained, however, silent; the thought of Lord Voldemort accelerated a dull shiver up his spine._

_"Why would he be after James?"His low, deep voice asked the question more to himself than the others._

_"It might not necessarily be James he's after, Sirius.He might be after someone in the castle, someone more important.Do you think it could be-"_

_"He-who-must-not-be-named is afraid of Dumbledore, everyone knows that."The red-haired witch whimpered, pulling her hands away from her mouth.Sirius stroked his chin in deliberate thought._

_"Or perhaps…he wasn't looking for someone, just…something…if he was after Dumbledore he would have come himself instead of sending in his pet."_

_"Whatever it is,"Lily whispered now, lower than ever, "I think we should keep it between ourselves.Only us three and James."She held out her wand."Let's swear."_

__

_The two marauders touched the tip of their wands to it, sending a tiny flurry of blue sparks around their hands._

__

_"God,"Sirius said in a low voice, averting his gaze I thought, "if anything happens to anyone…besides Severus, we can spare him (Remus and Lily chortled lightly, despite the sobriety of the conversation), I don't know what would fall upon us."_

_"Me neither Sirius."_

_Sirius…_

"Sirius!"

His murky, midnight eyes flashed open, wide and startled, meeting instantly with a flash of emerald green.Lily stared back at him with a panicked gaze.

"Sirius, he's gone."She whispered grimly, gripping her cloak tightly between her fingers.Sure enough, Sirius could see his blankets ruffled where James's body was supposed be lying, asleep.The invisibility cloak they'd used to reach the chamber seemed to have vanished as well.At least he had enough sense in his head to use it, he thought, rising from his chair.

"Come on…"His voice was very hushed."We've got to find him."

Lily followed him to the corridor entrance, watching in silence as the rogue-appearing wizard pulled a worn sheet of parchment from his robes and, which a mummer of words Lily could not understand, summoned an entire map of Hogwarts.But the Gryffindor witch chose wisely not to question, suddenly feeling as though there was much more about James and his friends than met the eye.

Sirius busily traced his finger along the corridors of the Marauder's Map, seeing that James was no where to be indicated, though the little dot labeled Peeves could be seen gallivanting along the ceilings of the fourth floor, Mrs. Norris prowling around the sixth floor, and Filch patrolling the great hall.But, he noted carefully, there should be a passage that leads all the way down to the fourth floor, the quickest path, and from there the could take the west way to a route that would lead outside.

"Now let's see…"They made their way deftly to the base of the stairs where Sirius, seen in a moment in pensive thought, tapped his wand to the wall and whispered,

"_Despedium."_

And to the amazement of Lily Evans, a panel appeared, and the dark eyed wizard stepped inside.

"Come on."

Hesitantly, she followed.

"_Lumos."_

Lily's wand lit the narrow passage just as the panel slid shut.It appeared to be a dank, lengthy stairway, leading to who knows where, perhaps Sirius, though she dared not question him.

"What you see here,"He said slowly, never averting his gaze from the stairway ahead while they made their way quietly down, "you tell to no one.Got it?"  
"Yes."

Soon enough, they reached the base of the long hallway and, with the same incantation, emerged from the hidden stairwell.The witch instantly recognized the corridors as that of the fourth floor.In a sort of surreal amazement she followed Sirius as he edged between the shadows, along the wall, towards the opposite end of the hall.

"Well, well, well…what do I see with my eyes tonight?"

Instantly they looked up.Peeves the Poltergeist stood hanging on the wall, smiling a devilishly wide smile.

"Going for a midnight snack?I'm sure Filch can help you get it."He took a deep breath; Lily shut her eyes tightly.Discovered here with Sirius Black at two in the morning.Her possibilities for Head Girl would be obliterated.But as it seemed her life would be over, a low voice mused,

  
"I'm sure the Bloody Baron would just love to know who was responsible for the incident at his Death Day party."Peeves's up-and-coming screech caught in his throat as he turned, staring at Sirius with incredibly wide eyes.

"You…you wouldn't…"  
"I would."

If it were possible for a poltergeist to pale, it certainly seemed that Peeves did, glaring at the dark-haired wizard boy with scrutinizing eyes.

"This never happened, right Peeves?"

The poltergeist frowned immensely, crossing his arms and floating off along the ceiling, no longer feeling the sensation to frolic.He smiled a bit, for the first time in a while, Lily noted, as they approached the passage that led down to the Quidditch pitch.

Sirius gingerly pushed the door ajar, spying out onto the desolate pitch with dark eyes.A breath of silent relief escaped him; indistinctly, in the distance, he could distinguish a moving form.His indication, however, was confirmed up perceiving the tiny splotch of tousled black hair atop the figure's head.An grin of irony fell upon his face; he should have supposed that James would be poking around in the bushes at two o' clock in the morning when he could be doing something more productive like sleeping.Turning back to Lily, who waited noiselessly in the passage after him, his midnight blue eyes summoned her to him.

"Let's split up.I'm going this way."

Lacking an additional utterance, Sirius altered his direction, an unmistakable smile of mischief splashed across his visage as he departed by his own way towards the grassy slopes in front of the castle, musing whether he should visit Hagrid while he was about or return to the common room, as Lily Evans walked cautiously across the pitch in search of the lost wizard.

James Potter was returning now; his object of misplacement now clutched tightly in his hands, smiling broadly, enjoying the night air-

"James, what are you doing?!"

There was a murmur of '_lumos' and he saw her face, frowning with exasperation as he stared at her, wide eyed._

"Lily?It's two in the morning?What are you doing out here?"

"I suppose I could ask you the same question.I was looking for you.And what, pray tell, where you doing?"

He smiled even wider then and held up his prized possession.His stupid, beloved broom.The Nimbus 1000.Lily felt as though she could have smacked him and kissed him at the same time.

"Oh James…couldn't you have used a summoning charm?"

"Of course."He said nonchalantly, resting his beloved Quidditch partner on his shoulder, trotting to catch up with Lily, "but I happen to like the night air, don't you?"

It was rather pleasant, Lily decided, helping herself to a glimpse at James.His eyes were lit with mirth, pleasure and a child-like innocence; or was it just the effect of light and shadow?Her tension faded into a smile, relieved to find him, or rather not to find him, in the clutches of the Dark Lord or his terrible basilisk.And completing her comfort, it seemed, he looked over then; the glasses-donning wizard seeing her affable grin, and shyly, _very shyly, with trembling hands even, placed his arm around her shoulders, and sighed._

Sirius Black slid mutely through the passage on the chamber floor, a certain contented air to his caution, ducking between the shadows as his second nature, the Marauder's Map rolled and tucked away in his back pocket beneath his robes.

"My, what a curious night.First I see James Potter, and now Sirius Black."

His fingers clenched, midway between light and shadow.Funny, he thought; I didn't think weasels stayed up this late at night.An icy smile lit his face as he turned.

"You know,"He stepped towards Snape, his navy blue eyes burning like midnight, "I bet you'd find this amusing.Tomorrow night, go to the Whomping Willow.There's a secret button on the side facing the castle; get a long stick and push it, and then you'll have the surprise of your life."  
  
Sirius turned his back, his limbs stiff with rage, examining the Marauder's Map in the moonlight though he knew very well where every passage was.And according to this, Professor Jinx was coming right that way.The rogue wizard strategically pressed a stone and a small passageway appeared.

"In the mean time, I suggest you get back to your Common Room.Your Professor's coming."And with that, Sirius Black disappeared.Severus Snape stared, boiling, at where his arch-rival had vanished, just as Professor Jinx, the head of Slytherin, came around the corner.

"Severus, what are you doing outside?"Professor Jemima Jinx came around the corner, her purple eyes blazing.Snape turned his head, crossing his arms.

"Nothing, Professor Jinx."  
"Hurry and get back to the common room then.I might not be able to pry you out of trouble if Dumbledore shows up."She sneered slightly and continued down her current direction.

"The Whomping Willow…"Severus thought cunningly, turning back towards the dungeon entrance, a billow in his robes.

Breakfast that morning was bustling with excitement.The Christmas Ball was a mere six days away; very few people had left for the holiday vacation.Among the few people, however, was Peter Pettigrew, whose mother had called him back because his Aunt Gertrude was visiting over the holidays, though he said he would have loved to see Lily and James's kids; this earned a very hard smack from James and a transfiguration into a talking mince pie.In fact, the only one not looking forward to the Christmas vacation was Remus Lupin.

His thick sandy hair was slowly becoming more unmanageable, his eyes turning from a cool, peaceful gray to a somewhat off-yellowish shade.The first full moon of the holidays was coming that very night.Currently, at the breakfast table, while James and Sirius complained about the darkness of the sausages, he sat riddled with silence, wringing his spoon in his hand as though it where a napkin.

"Remus…"Lily Evans asked, suddenly coming up behind him, sitting down at their table across from James and Sirius, "are you alright?"

He could feel her eyes burning into his own, examining their odd change of color that only happened during this time, during this day, before his curse took over.Quickly, Remus averted his gaze, stumbling over his words as they swiftly fell out of his mouth.

"I'm…I'm afraid I'm not feeling…in the best of weather right now…"He replied speedily. 

"Yes."Sirius said suddenly, remaining as cool as possible, though a certain degree of seriousness weighted his words, "Lily is right, Remus.You don't look yourself.Perhaps you should see Madam Pomfrey."

Gratefully, the tall sixth year stood, his hands looking more burly than his usual graceful fingertips, though Lily did not notice, collected his quills, book and parchment with an odd, trembling sensation.

"Right then,"He mumbled softly, his stomach feeling as though it might loose last night's dinner,"I'll go see Madam Pomfrey right now.I'm sure she'll have me fixed up by this afternoon."

"Take care of yourself."She said, her voice thick with bewildered concerned.He offered a very weak smile, careful not to show his impeccably sharpening teeth, swiftly carrying himself out of the great hall.

"I hope he's alright."Lily said, a tad uncomfortable.Those eyes; they were blazing like fire.

"He'll be fine."James's voice was heavy with sobriety as he pushed his plate away, Sirius following promptly in suit, both of the sixth year wizards gathering their books and scuttling away.She watched them curiously, feeling her hunger evaporate with her certainty.

The clock ticked time away especially slowly that night; Lily watched them from behind her romance novel, snuggled near the fire, examining their apprehensive faces as they struggled to concentrate on an invigorating game of chess.She, James and Sirius were the only ones left in the room now.The seventh years were having a party in HogsmeadeRemus Lupin had not returned from the medical office yet; his ailment must have been somewhat serious.But she decided that , whatever it was, she would be sure to ask him about the moment he returned.This curiosity was more than she could bear.

In any case, Lily had resorted to entertain herself between '_Rose's crimson lips fell upon Raul's luscious mouth with burning desire', and the wonderment she experienced from watching James look back and forth from the clock and his board game.This task she'd committed to was not as easy as it first seemed, because was getting quite thirsty now and the water fountain was in the Girls' Dormitory.At long last, her thirst overcame her and she walked, inconspicuously, to the dormitory._

James glanced up, a sigh of relief escaping his breath.

"Finally."

He pulled the neatly folded cloak of invisibility they'd been playing upon from beneath the chessboard, both he and Sirius clambered under and, bidding their pieces goodbye, crept out of the common room.

The red-haired witch returned just as the portrait entrance slipped closed.

"James?"

She laid her hand on her head, a deep sigh emitted with an exasperated undertone as she re-seated herself, picking up her novel and drifting into its pages, curiosity burning more than ever.

The night air chilled their arms and neck as the two marauders crept closer to the Whomping Willow, James now holding the invisibility cloak over his arm, Sirius behind him, the Marauder's Map tucked securely in the back pocket of his blue jeans.

"Where are we going to go tonight?"

"I dunno…it's Moony's turn to…"His voice trailed slowly to a halt.The trap door to the Whomping Willow had been exposed.James and Sirius turned to face each other, their eyes wide, suddenly breaking off into a run, ducking into the passage, hitting the closure knob behind them.

"Sirius?"James panted hard, running as fast as he could (which was pretty fast), Sirius sprinting along side him.

"Yeah?"  
"Why do I get the feeling that this is your doing?"They cut the long corner; the dark corridor was just straight ahead now, right to the Shrieking Shack.

"I told Severus…that he'd find a surprise if he used the passage at night.How was I supposed to know he'd actually do it?"  
  


Despite the overall seriousness of the situation, James cast him a hard, sarcastic look.

"Severus!"

They saw him dimly at the end of the hall, turning the doorknob, howls raging from the other side.

"Severus, no!"

James's words came too late; the Slytherin student opened the door, and from its depths sprang a beast with bristling brown hair, raging yellow eyes and glistening white jaws, snapping viciously.Snape's eyes had widened to the size of saucers as he lay, frozen, facing the fury of a wild creature, growling seethingly upon him.

"_Accio Snape!"_

All at once Severus went flying backwards, crashing hard into James, shivering with shock.He caught sight of, vaguely, a large black dog springing forward, barking rapidly, conversing it almost appeared if werewolves could do so; the black dog nudged the door closed when the wolf-creature was fully inside.

James stood now, his height intimidating Severus slightly, whose nerves were just regaining themselves while he lay, abashed, on the ground.

"Get out, Severus."He growled.

His dark eyes flickered; Snape collected himself to his feet, sneering at Sirius before turning, his crow-colored robes billowing as he turned, running down the dank passage.They watched him until he re-closed the door.

James stood silently; glancing at Sirius in the corner of his eye, who, at the moment, stood with his arms crossed, tall and proud it seemed, not ashamed of what happened in the least.He wanted to yell at him; how could he have been so stupid?!And yet…he couldn't; everything, from the way he dressed to the way he talked, Sirius did for a reason.Deciding then to be rational, he leaned against the stonewalls and sighed.

"What's between you and Severus, Sirius?"Sirius's dark eyes flickered as he cast James a elongated, pondering glance; he wondered whether his best friend would actually divulge his secret.He realized then, that Padfoot had always kept his life, memories sullen to the utmost extent.

Sirius sighed then, a heavy, weighted sigh, coursing one hand through his dark hair.

"We were kids, neighbors, the only nine year olds on Cadric Hill, full of old people."He started slowly, and James could see he was still wondering whether he should tell him or not."To make a long story short, we were friends, always going off into the forest near by, doing junk, telling stories.Once, we were investigating this old house that was supposed to be haunted.He dared me to go inside; told me to check."

Ironically, Sirius laughed, though it was stripped of mirth or humor.

"Stupidly, I did.The house happened to be the home of a hag.A really strong one at that.Threw me aside and broke my arm.Would have eaten me, I suspect, if Severus hadn't have screamed and tried to run away.The old bat took off after him instead.He led them straight to town and it took the whole lot of men to banish the thing."

Again, he ran his hand through his hair, his voice settling with a certain tart undertone.

"He managed to get away before the hag got to town, I guess, because when I got back he'd told everyone that I had led the thing to rampage.Said that when I was running away I'd broken my arm, and that he'd came when he heard me screaming for help.Told them all that the hag must have made me delusional."

"Didn't you tell them what happened?"James inquired softly.Sirius laughed bitterly in return.

"Of course I did.But my reputation back then was as good as it is now.A troublemaker, always causing problems.Naturally, no one believed me.I was grounded for weeks.I still haven't forgiven him."

James watched him, their silence was almost deafening.Sirius heaved a rather loud sigh.

"So that's the story.The rat, no offense to Peter, still hasn't changed.Still the same little weasel he's always been."Without nearly another word he pushed the door ajar. 

"Come on; Remus is probably getting restless."He transformed into the shaggy black dog then, and entered the Shrieking Shack.James, meditative for a brief moment, amber eyes flickering with a clairvoyant profoundness, followed soon after.

"You look ninety percent normal today, Remus."Lily said after breakfast the next morning, sitting on the couch next to James, who was presently engulfed in _Quidditch Through the Ages.Remus looked from above his chess game which he and Sirius were currently engaged in (Sirius had just taken his queen, and Remus's king had ran for cover), a smile of neat puzzlement spread across his face._

"What do you mean?" 

James looked up with a sort of clever grin.

"I think I've got it."

He crossed the room, handing Remus _Quidditch Through the Ages and tugging him by the shoulders out of his chair.Then, much to the amusement of Lily, though Sirius was far to inundated in pondering his next move, he led the sandy haired wizard to sit on the sofa, examining with a very artistic nature._

"Act like your reading the book, Remus."

Remus grinned in a sort of wondering fashion, amused, though it seemed, and lifted the book a little below his eye level, while James established himself in the cushiony armchair his fellow marauder had been settled in prior to Lily's words.

"There, how's that?" 

"Perfect!"She smiled at James, a very cute smile indeed, because his mouth seemed to dry out, watching the slender explosions of light in the emerald pools of her eyes.It made him flush red, realizing how hard he was staring, and directed his gaze to the chessboard.Sirius was staring at him; by the look in his eyes, which lightened and darkened according to his mood, he seemed to be highly entertained, mocking almost, at the excellent chemistry exchanging between his best friend and Lily Evans.

"James, (his voice warbled as though it was killing him not to burst out laughing) may I speak to you for a moment in the dormitory?"

Lily raised her eyebrow curiously as the two boys entered the dormitory, James looking perplexed as Sirius closed the door.Remus chuckled from behind James's book.

James seated himself on his four-poster bed, giving Sirius a look of curiosity as he also took establishment on his own.

"James,"Sirius said, _very seriously (as serious as he could get between urges of laughter), "the time has come."_

James blinked, his face as blank as a new chalkboard.

"Time for what?"Sirius gave him a sort of bewildered look, but it quickly passed, clearing his throat authoritively, sweeping his shady hair away from his eyes.

"The time…has come."

"Sirius, I really don't know what you're talking about."

Remus glanced at the door, where he could have sworn her head a loud object break.He sighed and set James's book down.

"I'm going to check on them."Lily stared at the door questionably, and nodded.

"Good idea."

Remus peered into the room, where Sirius was shaking James back and forth.The wizard with glasses was looking somewhat blue.

"The…time…has…come…!"

"Time…for…wha...uh…hat?"

"James!Sirius, stop shaking him!"Sirius released James from around the shoulders, coursing his hand through his black hair as he often did when he was in thought.

"I just don't know what to do!He just doesn't get it!"  
"GET WHAT?!"James demanded fiercely, holding his throbbing head.

"ASK LILY TO THE BALL!"

James's voice, spirit and any other item need for rational speech went down the drain.

"Me?"  
"No, the hippogriff standing behind you.OF COURSE YOU!"Sirius bellowed.

Remus sighed stiffly, leaning on the bedpost frame.

"We know that you like her, James."  
"M…m…me?"

"And that you'll probably want to ask her to the ball."  
"Me?"

"And then you'll get married, have kids and grow old together."  
"Me?"

"Yes, James.You."

"Me?"

Remus and Sirius exchanged slightly concerned glances; James Potter looked absolutely petrified.

"So…go ask her."Sirius nudged his arm; James's positioning didn't change in the slightest.

"Do you need help?"Remus offered.James didn't reply.Sirius took hold of his left arm and Remus took his right, lifting James, still completely empty, and heaving him out of the sixth-year dormitory, into the main chamber.Lily looked at them with slightly confused emerald orbs, and at James, who was still not responding to any questions though his face had turned a remarkably accurate shade of radish.

"James would like to ask you something."Remus said quite politely, lifting James higher so that he and Lily were at eye-level.

"Go ahead James."

James closed his mouth for a second, managing to stand on his own two feet, adjusted his glasses, pushed his hand through his jet-black hair, straightened his posture and said, in a _very little voice,_

"Me?"

Sirius and Remus gave two, very collective groans.

"Excuse us."They took James each by one arm, pulling him towards the dormitory.

"Briefing?"James asked.

"Briefing."They replied.

"But I don't understand!"James cried for the eighteenth time.Remus and Sirius groaned, more exasperated than ever.

"James, it's very simple.You…ask…Lily…to…the…ball-"  
"I know that part."The wizard snapped, cleaning his glasses, "But...shouldn't I ask her when I feel that it's the right time?"

"James, James, James…"Sirius put his arm around James's shoulder, who retaliated from this gesture by giving him a very mistrusting glare,"What is today?Tell me."  
  


"Today is Wednesday."

"Good.And when is the Christmas Ball?"  
"Friday."

"Excellent.Now tell me, how many days do you left have to ask Lily to the ball?"

"Two, including today."  
"That's right.NO, YOU SHOULD NOT ASK WHEN YOU FEEL THE TIME IS RIGHT!!!"James tumbled off the bed in fright.

"Sirius, it's okay.We should just…let him do it his own way."

Sirius would have objected had Remus not glared a very threatening glare that, in any normal case, the rogue of a wizard would not have assented to.In this case, however, Sirius was getting severely tired, his head pounding unceasingly until he relented.

"Whatever."He crossed his arms and scowled slightly, more aloof than angered, they supposed, at the lightness of his navy eyes."Do what you please, James.But in the mean time, I'd like to get a butterbeer."  
"Me too."Said Remus, removing his plain black robe and replacing it with his favorite light gray one, "You could invite Lily along as well.We've got…"He glanced at Sirius, who returned with a nervous response of apprehension, "things to discuss."

James, thankfully, had decided to leave it at that, not bothering to ask questions, changing his black robe for ones of rich, dark maroon.

(A/N: Another author note, hopefully the last.I would think that, because it IS the seventies, wizards or not, they would wear more of a variety of robe colors.It's not exactly like a dress robe; those would be more formal, as I will explain in due time, but just different color robes.The seventies was all about self expression and color, man.Like, go with the flow!::ahem:: anyway, read on.)

"I'll find her then.But one of you will have to treat."Remus and Sirius glanced between one another glaring challengingly.Feeling rather chuffed at himself, wondering how they would settle the deal but more eager to find Lily instead, he clambered off through the main chamber and out of the hall.

Night fall approached soon enough, too soon it almost seemed, when James had at last found the person he'd been searching for; Lily Evans sat, one arm folded around her bent leg, staring up at the clouded sky with vivid emerald eyes, her forest green cloak billowing in place of her black robes.What little light reflected off from the castle and from the moon, who still played among the mist-ridden sky, looked beautiful among her fair skin, emitting a sort of silver-screen glow, rich crimson hair cascaded over her shoulders in a way James had only seen in muggle movie theaters, before the entrance of the protagonist.

Enter the protagonist.

"Lily?"

She inclined her head dreamily towards his gentle voice, smiling at the very sight of him.

"Hello James."Her voice, the way she called him, how she talked to him; why was he here?He suddenly couldn't recall.He blinked and he was standing over her, folding his legs and he was at her side, staring up with her, chestnut twinkling in time with jade, gazing, where slowly, the traces of rose and lavender melted into sheets of midnight blue. Mingling among the sky, still, where the blankets of rain clouds that had yet to spill a tear, looming, intimidating, bluffing, pondering it appeared, whether to storm upon the hills or move on elsewhere.

"How can you see..." He asked softly, never breaking his gaze from the languorous movement of the gray haze above them, "with all the clouds in the sky."

"I can't."She said flatly, then smiled, then laughed."But I was feeling in such a...romantic, is that the word?Romantic then, mood, that I decided to come outside and watch the sky anyway.I'm a bit of a nutter, I guess." 

"I bit, I guess."He smiled while he spoke, still watching the heavens with a shimmer in his eyes, "But then, so is Professor Dumbledore.And so am I."

Laughter escaped him, short and sweet; Lily waited for him to continue, somehow knowing he would.

"It's all really unnecessary though, being a nutter or not being one.We're all crazy in our own way, I suppose.Trying to tell the difference is completely superfluous."

A dolce smile came to life upon her lips. 

"You know what else is superfluous, now that we're on big words?"He broke his eyes, feeling a curiosity sweep over him, surround him, surrounding her as well.

"What?"

"Talking.Yours especially."

"Really?"He sounded genuinely intrigued, authentically puzzled.She nodded, fingers sweeping long strands of deep red behind her ears, expressing her amusement with a slight chuckle.

"My mother always used to say…when I asked her what a (her face tinted pink) kiss was, she would say that 'Kisses are a lovely little trick, invented for when talking became superfluous'."

The gap between them filled with silence, each breaking off to examine the sky, or to avoid the others gaze, either way, their eyes drifted upward.

"If you say my talking is superfluous,"James asked slowly, "then are you saying that…you want to…"He looked at her then, leaning back on his hands as he was, uncertainty in his eyes which she returned to full measure.

"I…I honestly wouldn't know, if I did or not.I haven't kissed many wizards, many boys for that matter..."Her eyes melted into fearful questioning.

"If it's any condolence,"James tried to smile then, but it was severely weak, so he coughed instead, "I haven't kissed many witches in my time either, and never a muggle-"  
"But I suppose," Lily said quickly, fidgeting her fingers together, making up her mind in a whirl of thoughts, "I might try.Just to see."

She glimpsed at him slightly; his face had erupted in shades of crimson, scarlet, radish, beet and most other curious reds she'd never seen before.

"Close your eyes."

The color of chestnut behind James's round glasses snapped shut.Lily examined him, awkwardly, wondering where to put her hands.Carefully, cautiously, she leaned over, placing one hand on the other side of the grass, her upper-body directly over him, now wondering what to do next.Bit by bit she closed her eyes, and held there.

James opened his eyes slowly, his façade still unbearably littered with ruby residue.The crimson-haired witch sighed then, moving, or trying at least, from over him.

"I'm sorry James, this is just to awkw-"

Her hand slipped suddenly from beneath her, before she could move off, and plunged right into him, James' s head hitting the ground before her mouth meshed into his, clumsily, three…maybe five seconds at the most.Lily broke away, her face looking incredibly pale, struggling to scramble off, covering her mouth, horrified in the least.

"I…oh…I'm sorry I…"The jet-black haired wizard she'd fallen into, however, hadn't moved the slightest muscle; had she knocked him _that hard?_

"James?"She glanced over him; his eyes seemed pinned to the sky, his face awfully puzzled and adorable at the same time, amber orbs flickering first among the clouds, then at her.He didn't, however, murmur a word.  
"Are you hurt?"She inquired softly, reaching over him again, sure not to loose her balance, brushing a few strands of his dark hair away from his eyes.

"James?"He blinked several times, over and over."James?"

James pulled himself into an upright position, his legs bent, folded one under the other, turning his gaze to the sky, his expression shifting from confused, to enlightened, and back again.

"James, are you alright?"Lily asked firmly, her concernment overwhelming her gentility.His coffee eyes flickered across her, his mind recalling lightly a matter of butterbeer, but that mattered least of all.Subtly, gradually, he reached out to her, she unrelentingly came, and, still saying no word nor phrase, he impressed a lingering kiss upon her.

Lily closed her eyes, the most beautiful of visions sweeping before her, most wonderful epiphanies and thoughts, opening a gateway to patterns she'd never before felt.Her heart bounced off the moon before he pulled away, opening her eyes then, with his fingers.Her eyes alight to the amber color flickering, twinkling, still in time with her own; he was smiling.

"A kiss,"His entire face beamed, "from one nutter to the other."

Lily glanced at him, her grin returning, arms still weak as she initiated to stand.

"James, don't talk."

He tried to rise also but she pressed him back down into the soft earth, laughing good-naturedly as the crimson-haired witch scampered into the castle, James Potter closing at her heels.

He still hadn't asked her.

That night when James Potter had returned to his dormitory, he'd found a white, shaven French poodle and a tawny yellow tabby cat 'playing' tug of war with Remus's wand.Nearly an hour had past since he'd left; finally deciphering once from the other he changed the two of his best friends back into their original forms, with the small promise of not to pester and banter him until after the Christmas Ball.

Apparently, the two engaged in a duel to decide who the purchaser of drinks was; Remus hit Sirius with an effective '_Tarantallegra', while Sirius, dancing a jig and all, as Remus recalled with a very strained chortle, retaliated with a stunning '__Locomotor Mortis!'.James had found it all excessively entertaining.The entire day before the Christmas Ball they'd spent to themselves, insisted by his fellow marauders, who were still indeed craving their butterbeers.The two of them, after the commotion had ceased and James was sound asleep, dreaming of Lily no doubt, to be treated for by their fellow, and __very well respected friend Prongs._

So now, as the night progressed, they returned through the dank path that ran underneath Hogwarts, making their way with a noiseless air, to the statue of the hutch-backed witch.James led the way, his wand alight, glittering brilliantly as a singular light in the passage, his invisibility cloak tucked under his arm.The Marauder's Map was held securely in Sirius's pocket, though the dark-haired wizard had little to notice; his mind tinkered delicately upon the discussion he, Remus and Lily had had just two nights before.

From the corner of his murky blue eyes, which flickered darkly at the moment, he saw Remus's glance his way from beside him, both following James, mutely concurring.

"James…"Sirius cleared his throat uneasily, "We have something we'd like to tell you…"  
"It's very important.We've already agreed that you should know."

The untidy-haired wizard stopped then, casting a questionable glance between his friends.Both looked unbearably nervous; he himself had never seen Sirius edge along the hem of his deep, navy robes, or any robes for that matter.And Remus, Remus didn't look this uneasy until it was his, as Sirius had put with a chortle, 'Time of the Month'.And though he knew it was probably the maddest idea his mind had ever put forth, he voice it.

"You…guys…you're not…not going to tell me that you're…"

Remus and Sirius looked at him, then at each other, easily clearing ten entire feet each.The rogue wizard in navy had spread himself flat against the wall, chest heaving up and down like the rise and fall of high tide, the pupils in his eyes shrunken in fear.

"Are you insane?!"He croaked; his voice was very much so like a bullfrog.

Remus, on the other hand, had huddled into the opposite wall, clutching onto it for dear life, not really breathing at all.

"US?!"His voice had reached an all-time high.James chuckled to himself, obviously tickled with the thought.

"Joking…joking…"

Neither of them peeled themselves from the wall, giving each other a frightened look up and down, both visibly shuddering at the highly…disturbing…thought. 

"Where in the hell did you ever get an idea like that."Sirius muttered, walking as far away from Lupin as wizardly possible.Remus eyed James with the same confusion.

"Merlin's wand, it's nothing of that sort."

Shuddering again, Sirius sighed, his muscles tensing out, coursing a hand through his thick, black hair.

"James, it's about…the serpent you saw.That wasn't an ordinary snake, James.It was a-"

"A basilisk."James interrupted quietly, startling both the sandy-haired werewolf and the canine animagus.His amber eyes flickered, concentrating on the darkness ahead, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.

"Did you over hear us talking then-""I deduced it myself.Not difficult.It rather brings an added light to the situation."James scoffed, gripping the wand in his hand tighter.

"I know that the Dark Lord is after me."

"He might not be after you, James." Sirius put, a sudden softness to his gruff voice."Of all wizards why would he be after you?"  


"I had a dream last night."Silence swept between their legs; his glasses seemed to have slipped again.James pushed them up tensely, then ran a hand through his hair.

"It was dark –"

_James felt different some how.Stronger, perhaps, older maybe.In his hand, his wand tightly clenched in his fist.Around him, a surrounding he never knew, a small house; he was in the living room.On the fireplace, he saw pictures.Lily Evans, of course, smiling and waving out of the picture frame, her hair blowing slightly in the wind.She seemed older, still beautiful though, without a doubt._

__

_His eyes transfixed on other pictures; one with he, Lily and Sirius waved back at him joyously.Yes, James thought, he was definitely older, as was Sirius.It appeared to be their wedding day; yet somehow, he felt an on coming dread.The wizard raised his fingers to his eyes; he was crying._

__

_Finally, he fell upon a baby picture, a small child smiling and waving happily, clapping his tiny hands, a slew of dark, messy hair atop his forehead.James first believed that it was he, but something about the child seemed off, though he could not place it._

__

_Then, as though he'd been waiting for something all along, he saw the wall burst open, and he knew, by the icy chill that met him, that the Dark Lord himself was in his presence._

_"Two long years, James Potter.Two excruciating long years.And now…"A sardonic smile curled on his lipless mouth, looking less and less human with each traction, raising his ghostly hands, wand curled between his fingers, "Goodbye, James Potter."_

"I woke up then, shaking.It felt as though I'd been hit…I'm sure it was an unforgivable curse though, almost positive."

Remus Lupin's face was pale, even in the darkness; he seemed to stand out against the black walls like an introverted silhouette.

And Sirius Black.

His eyes had become black, deeper than the space between the heavens and the stars, two burning orbs of ebony.James's eyes flickered across his face; he never seemed so intense, so frightening.Wordless, his fingers rummaged through his robes, his wand entwined with them, raising it to his opposite palm.

"_Severntium."_

Where the tip of the wand touched his hand, crimson blood ebbed, rich and thick with intensity.James unsheathed his wand then, Remus as well, dragging the point along their palm in the same, horizontal pattern, holding it up.

"A pact between us."Sirius pushed his palm into James's. 

"As friends."The latter muttered, his blood mingling now with Remus.

"And allies."The werewolf held his hand up to Sirius, who pressed it into his, lastly saying,

"May one never betray another."

His eyes were still glittering in their raven color as he clinched his palm hand shut, sullen, his fingers pressing the gash tight.

"I swear,"The rogue's voice came enigmatically, darkly, "as long as my blood is in your, James, the Dark Lord won't lay a hand on you."

"The same."Remus spoke up, his voice darker as well."He won't touch you.Not without a fight."

"I don't need your blood to protect me."

"That's why you have us."

A ghostly form of a grin devised itself onto the striking face of Sirius Black, a liquid velvet drop relinquishing to the ground below as the lesion in his hand ceased bleeding.James motioned to speak, yet no utterance came forth, so he sighed instead, wondering who in the heavens, be they sitting on a throne of gold, if any, or not, had granted him with a lifetime of loyalty.

"Come on,"He spoke, the former grin upon his façade, holding his wand high, "Let's get back to the common room before midnight."

Yes well, the preceding afternoon was spent with much preparation; around nine or so, the girls seemed to have vanished from the corridors, disappearing completely it seemed had their not been continuous laughter behind echoing through the halls.While James and Remus ventured to the library, Sirius had decided to catch some Z's.They hadn't seen much of him all day really; at dinner, which was several hours early, started, he was still nowhere to be found.When seven-thirty rolled around, half an hour before the start of the ball, Sirius Black strolled in, cool as ever, fully dressed in his midnight blue robes.

"Sirius,"Remus Lupin started, adjusting his light gray robes, a certain amount of nonchalance and reprimand in his voice, "where were-"

"Well?"James did look mighty spiffy as he turned towards them, tucking his wand away in an inside pocket.His hair, of course, was still quite unmanageable, dance or no dance, but his robes fit him just right; deep crimson, just above his ankles, two shiny brass clasps sewn exquisitely into the divine fabric, accompanied finally with a draping hood.

Sirius smiled a very cunning smile, slipping his arm around James's shoulder.

"I must say, James, you get it from me."Remus slipped his arm around his other shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sirius, but you are mistaken.I believe he gets it from my blood."  
"No, no, no I beg to differ."Sirius pointed at his best friend, who was glancing between them, looking somewhat amused."You see, James has one thing that he couldn't have got from you."

"And what, pray tell, is that?"

"Charm."Remus scoffed, giving Sirius a bored look, his gray eyes alight with mischief.

"But you, see, he's also got one thing you've not."

"Which would be?"

"Finesse."  
"I…am the master…of finesse."

"Then be a sport and prove it."

Sirius stepped back then, his eyes the lightest James had yet to see, holding something jestingly behind his back, within his robes.His own looked similar to that of James, except his buckles were silver, and there were buckles on the shoulder, and his robes went five inches below his knee.There was obviously something up his sleeve, or in this case, in his pocket.

"Gentlemen, I give you…"From behind him, three delicate flowers, gorgeous, fleshy-pink and orange gypsy roses, appeared, folded between his fingers.Beautiful and fragrant, glistening with dew.Remus, skeptical, took one from his hand, and inhaled its scent.

"There's something different…"

"Their muggle grown."

Sirius appeared quite proud of himself, tucking one of the luscious flowers into his back pocket.

"Muggle grown?"James voiced, somewhat surprised, other part mystified, examining it curiously.

"You don't actually think I'd SLEEP for seven hours, do you?"Mischief was, truth be told, Sirius Black's middle name."Give the flower to a special girl tonight, and we may just have dates for next year."

From the bed stand, James's watch beeped, signaling eight o' clock.

"Now, I believe there are a few ladies who are dance worthy in the Great Hall."Remus and James broke into identical grins.

"Mr. Padfoot, I believe that is the most intelligent point you have ever brought up."

"Why thank you, Mr. Moony."

"And may I say that is quite a sophisticated robe choice."

Remus's robe also appeared similar to his fellow's formal wear; his buckles were silver, alike to Sirius's, but there was sort of a diminutive piece over the shoulders, attached to the hood.His dress robe went down to his ankles as well.  
"Ah, thank you, thank you, Mr. Prongs."Chortling, they were, as they ascended to the chamber floor.

The Great Hall was marvelous beyond compare.The walls coated with an icy sheet, engraved with tiny, intricate snowflakes.Glittering blue snow fairies, obviously contributed by Professor Flitwick, stood waving and dancing, squealing in their tiny, high-pitched voices.Banners of silver decorated the head table upon which Headmaster Dumbledore and the other staff were seated upon, the fabric sparkling fantastically under the bathing light of the chamber, its abundant brilliance also reflecting off of the pearly ice sculptures, depicting elegant, larger than life snow angels.The most curious thing, however, was the live, dancing snowman in the corner, who swung his top hat in all directions.

His chestnut eyes glimmered over the festivities as they entered the hall, grabbing the attention of quite a few lovely ladies in the hall.James then fell upon her.Glittering, sparkling, twirling and laughing in that beautiful emerald cloak, her deep red hair twisted and curled.

His feet froze in place.

James had not been able to work up the courage to utter anything to her since that twilight, in front of the castle.It was almost like a dream; as though he was a different person.

And yet it was quite possible that he was.The James Potter he could recall being, the sixteen-year-old wizard he was right then, watching the exquisite creature from the doorway, would never have held her in that way or said the things he said in that prior-sunset scenario.He hadn't kissed Lily Evans.The memory was his but the feeling was not.His legs wobbled beneath him, trembling, as he took a shaky step backwards.

"I left something in the dormitory." He prevaricated in as calm a mutter he could throw out. 

_I've got to go now…_

"Don't wait up for me."

_I've got to clear my head.I've got to get out of the castle._

James Potter turned and left.

The remaining two exchanged concerned glances but held their ground.

"Do you think he'll be back?"Remus asked coolly, smoothing his sandy brown hair.

"If he's not, she'll find him."Sirius smiled then, a charming smile reserved for only a selected few, and turned his gaze towards a crowd of popular (and attractive) seventh year girls."In the mean time…if you'll excuse me, Mr. Moony."

Sirius Padfoot Black held his rose between his fingers, striking a very James Bond-like face, and turned, his robes flowing behind him with a practiced perfection, towards the endearing cluster.

The sandy-haired werewolf called Remus Lupin rolled his eyes, the gray orbs venturing in the vicinity of the staircase that Prongs had disappeared to, and would have considered following him had a certain Hufflepuff girl not caught his eye first…

The Christmas Ball was in full swing and Lily Evans had only danced with a few, her emerald eyes dancing casually, spiritedly however, about the floors, for one reason and one alone.

Where in the name of Merlin was James Potter?

She'd been waiting all night for him to appear, to ask her to dance, to at LEAST utter a hello in her direction.But she'd not seen him at all, not since he appeared at the door, looking as charming, if not more, than ever.Now she sat at a small, round table with a small cup of warm butter beer in her hand, the fairy posing as the centerpiece squealing to her in her high-pitched twitter.

Among the dance floor she caught sight of Sirius, dancing with a handsome Ravenclaw girl.Perhaps he might know; it was seldom to see James Potter and Sirius Black more than ten feet away from the other.She stood to ask him, when from the corner of her eye, Severus Snape appeared, coming towards her from the right, while from the left, came Mundungus Finch, a polite, yet overly-talkative, Gryffindor seventh year.Both looked rather eager to dance, and she wouldn't know how to turn down either.

Uh oh…

Sirius cast another charming smile at Sariya Silverwood, who danced with him at the moment, her entrancing blue eyes coming closer and closer to his own…

"Sirius."A dull murmur he would recognize anywhere.Regrettably he turned his head away from the Ravenclaw beauty.

"What?"Remus noted a bite of annoyance in his voice, but ignored it, keeping towards them as long as his dancing partner would allow.

  
"Damsel in distress to your right."He hissed.Sirius turned his head towards the dancing snowman, where Lily Evans was about to have a intervention with two undesirable dance partners.Time to take matters into his own hands.

"I'm on it."

Sirius danced himself away from Remus and his partner, still twirling Sariya, before his hands released her own.From the back of his robe he pulled the rose.

"Hold the next dance.I'll be right back."Tucking the rose into her fingers, kissing them lightly, he turned, running a skillful hand through his mane, and made his way towards the crimson-haired witch.

"Hello Lily."Severus Snape, who happened to reach her first, came up to her with his slimy smile.

"Hey there Lily.You sure are looking very lovely tonight."Said Mundungus, who reached second.Lily smiled weakly between them.

"Thank you…"

"Lily I was wondering…"

"Lily would you care to-"

Suddenly she swept onto the dance floor, spinning away from a very sour-appearing Slytherin boy, and a slightly disappointed Gryffindor Head Boy.Her eyes glanced forward; Sirius Black spun her very gracefully towards the center of the floor.

"Close shave, Milady."He muttered, an enchanting smile lighting his face, his midnight blue eyes flickering upon her.Lily admitted with no trouble nor hesitation how handsome he was.

"I am indebted to you."They spun once more; he was quite the dancer."But where is milord?"

Jestingly he spun her out, rolling her back in closely, just to make Snape simmer with jealousy, to the song of the Italian waltz.

"Milord is outside upon I stead, I suspect."She grinned as he twirled her.

"I should have known.I'll go to him."

"'Tis best."The two sixth years parted ways; Lily curtsied with a jesting smile, and the rogue wizard bowed in return.

"It was a pleasure dancing with you."

"The pleasure was mine.Now _go."Lily turned, finding herself among the entrance, which was what, she supposed, he'd planed all along._

"You are a true knight, Sirius Black."

Then she turned and fled down the hall.He smiled thoughtfully, coursing his hand through his thick, rusted-coal mane with a contented air.

"A true knight…how…true…" Sirius nodded then, turned, and went in search of Sariya.

_James Potter…coward extraordinaire…_

Lily Evans must despise you now, for not showing your pitiful face at the Christmas Ball.

James sighed.Self pity was indeed a sad, sad thing.

"James!"

His chestnut eyes focused down to the earth far below him, and, blinking though he was, recognized the miniature witch beneath him as Lily Evans, sparkling still to his amber orbs, a heavenly light glowing around her.

"James, come lower!"

Obediently he nudged his broom downward, hovering still seven feet over her head, a sort of superficial puzzlement on his face.

"Lily, what are you doing out here?"Her emerald eyes narrowed, placing her hands delicately on her hips.

"Don't you dare play dumb with me, James Potter.I'm out here to see you and you know it."This was, in fact, the truth.The false puzzlement in his expression ebbed off, his façade becoming an intricate cross sandwiched between discomfit and guilt.

The intonation of sternness in her voice melted; she beamed unobtrusively, rotating her head, exhibiting a fine profile perspective.

"Well?"The crimson-haired witch flushed softly through the darkness, "Is there room for two?"

A smirk contorted onto his visage, fingers fishing for his wand with a cunning eye.

"_Accio Lily!"_

Lily shrieked as she began to take rise, little by little, holding her dress down as she levitated by means of magic, higher and higher, towards the sixteen-year-old wizard and his Nimbus 1000.A short tap along the carefully carved wood and she settled there, lashing out around him for dear life, gasping fervently, her hair pressed close into his chest.

James chuckled, despite her frightened air, and allowed his arm to slip around her waist to steady her vaguely quivering form.

"James…don't you ever…quit laughing!"She shrieked, holding him waist-wise tighter.

"You've got nothing to worry about as long as I'm up here with you."His voice still contained a hint of laughter as she looked up at him, trenchantly, and said,

"Why would I trust you?"His answer came without a sliver of hesitation.

"Because I'm charming."

"Cocky."Lily held him still, though she no longer felt afraid."Charming, yes.But cocky."

There was silence between them, each involuntarily listening to the sounds of the castle around them, the vague echo of a waltz seeping through the stone walls from an open window or door somewhere.The crimson-haired witch sighed contently then, still feeling no inclination to release him.

"But I…"Her cheeks became an exquisite shade of cherry blossom, "I like you.A lot…"Her voice died down into emptiness as she pulled out of his hold, sitting very well on her own, reddening with each oncoming second.

"I mean…I wouldn't mind…"

"If your trying to say,"James interrupted suddenly, turning towards her with no visible sign of bashfulness, "that you wouldn't mind having someone like me for a…steady…a boyfriend…"From his back pocket he pulled the gypsy rose, tucking it behind her ear with a strand of her deep red tresses, "then I wouldn't mind either."

She stared at him, her emerald eyes wide and sparkling; a thought crossed her mind and she blushed, turning away slightly.

"I suppose…this is the part where we kiss, huh?"James shrugged, a grin impressing itself onto his face.

"I suppose."

Lily inclined in his direction, beaming blissfully, but his finger rose to meet her.The untidy-haired wizard felt his face fill with hot color, yet somehow managed not to break his gaze.

"I'm…I'm sorry for not dancing with you.I mean, if you were waiting for me then you must have had a terrible time and…I just wanted…to…apologize…for…not…"

Her delicate hands fell upon the sides of his face, and he could tell, by the well her lips fell upon him, that she didn't seem to terribly mind.Her arms slipped tightly around his neck as his hands found their way to her waist, holding her steady on the broom as they started to run out of breath.

It was James who broke the kiss; his face was slightly blue but he looked quite happy; so happy, in fact, that he tumbled off the broom and onto the grassy knoll, which now lay two feet below them.Gradually, Lily stepped off, smiling down upon him, dropping to her knees onto the soft, long-bladed earth, stroking his cheek.

"Silly."

"Not silly."He gave a contented sigh, loving this feeling of her touch upon his face, "Just dazed."She giggled, like the school girl she retained to be, and pulled him up off of the grass.

"Come on."She caught him off guard with a cute peck on his mouth, stunning him enough to fall back down again."Let's go back inside."Lily tugged his hand laughingly, running off towards the castle.James smiled, his hands gripping his broom securely as he started off after her.

"_Your mother's coming... She wants to see you...it will be all right... hold on..."_

He heard it.He heard it clear as day.

"What…was that…"  
  


"James, come on!"

His eyes flickered across her retreating form, sprinting to catch up.He did break even, naturally, grabbing her from behind, pulling her into a waltz stance right before they entered the Great Hall.

"Don't you want to go inside?"He smiled a trademark charming smile, starting to twirl her leisurely.

"I don't know…maybe…"

"You know."Lily grinned, dancing with him still, laughter in her eyes."You're beating around the bush.And you know what that is?"

"Unnecessary?" 

"That's not the word I'm looking for…"He literally looked confused.

"Excessive...?"  
"No…"  
"Unessential?" 

"James!I know very well that you very well know what the word I'm looking for is!"James averted his gaze in thought, dipping her lightly.

"No…no, I can't think of it."

"Superfluous!"

"What?"  
"Superfluous, James!Remember?"

"No?Say it again…"

"Super-"She couldn't go on, because he caught her by surprise, pressing his lips up against hers sweetly, shortly, and smiled, a chuckle or two blended with the chocolate coffee in his eyes.

"Now, we're even."Lily laughed, pulling closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

And you know, they never DID go back and join the ball.

Welps, that is the end of my first EVER Harry Potter story.Is it okay?Did it suck?Was everyone pretty much in character?Could you understand the words?Am I really getting on your nerves?Well anyway, I seriously hope everyone enjoyed it.Please, send my feedback!Comments?Flames?Buttered toast with marmalade?Send um' all to me at [Artetiegr@hotmail.com][1] or just review my story!Thanks!

   [1]: mailto:Artetiegr@hotmail.com



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